With the growth of computing in general, and the fact that much of today's computing revolves around connectivity to other computer systems to exchange information, security has become an important part of computing. Even though there are various ways users can protect their computer systems against external attacks, hackers are able exploit weaknesses in users' computer configurations, as well as weaknesses in human nature, to attack computers. In part, this is because contemporary security models are complex to users, and some security settings are difficult for users to understand, yet rely on the user to manage and make decisions on security.
For example, contemporary computer users have a number of security settings on their computers that are critical to providing protection from hackers, viruses and rogue programs. The critical nature of these settings dictates that they should not be altered by third parties without user permission, however this is often not the situation with users' computer systems as many malicious computer programs can easily change security settings on a computer without the computer user's explicit knowledge of the change or changes. Furthermore, users may intentionally attempt to change certain settings themselves without completely realizing the security impact of their actions, e.g., a user may lower the security level to temporarily allow some unusual behavior (such as to load a control from a trusted site), but then forget to restore the level to its higher setting.
In sum, users need some level of connectivity to other users' computers, yet have to balance this need for connectivity against some level of vulnerability. Security bulletins and the like are only effective to the extent that users read them and act accordingly. Antivirus programs, firewalls, security patches and other downloads can only prevent certain types of security issues from being exploited, and even then may be too late for many users. In sum, what is needed is a method and system that reduces the complexity of dealing with various security issues and can notify the user of various potential security vulnerabilities, at times when it matters, not after it is too late.